Deputy Chief Minister K. Srihari stated in the Assembly on Friday that special enrolment drive for improvement of admissions into the government junior colleges had positive impact with increase in the intake.
Replying a question, he explained that the enrolment in first year Intermediate course in 404 junior colleges in the State was 77,763 in 2014-15 and it had gone up to 82,581 in 2015-16 and to 90,716 in 2016-17. He stated that free education was being provided at Intermediate level from 2015-16 onwards by supplying textbooks free of cost to all the students, irrespective of their community.
Further, the Minister stated that digital classrooms and upgraded laboratories were being provided at government junior colleges as part of attracting students and games and sports equipment was also being supplied from 2016-17. He explained that new buildings were being constructed for 48 junior colleges, additional classrooms in 117 colleges, compound walls for 20 colleges, additional toilets for 267 colleges and reverse-osmosis plants for 110 colleges were being done with ₹275 crore, the Deputy Chief Minister told the Assembly.
District offices
On the construction of Integrated District Office Complexes, Minister for Roads and Buildings T. Nageswara Rao stated that 26 new complexes were sanctioned with an estimated cost of ₹843.5 crore.
Work on 18 office complexes had commenced and sites were being finalised for the remaining eight.
Responding to a question on the sale of spurious seed and fertiliser, Minister for Agriculture P. Srinivas Reddy said the government was invoking Preventive Detention Act against such offenders. A total of 2,37,810 spurious cotton seed packets were seized in the State under the Seed Act and ₹2.4 crore compensation was given to farmers in 3,675 cases of spurious seed.